You always hear about athletes “talkin’ trash” during games to try and psyche each other out. You know, a put down to get in the other guy’s head. Well, I wanna talk some trash here because these sporting events are one of the biggest contributors of disposable waste in the country. Just think about it. Whether it’s a football game, baseball, basketball or hockey, high school, college or professional, can you imagine how much waste is created by the concessions at these? All of the cups, food boxes, bags, plates, platters, napkins and straws, add up to mountains of trash. And where does it all go? That’s right – our landfills.
What if all these disposables where required to be biodegradable? What if after collection they were required to be disposed of at a commercial composting facility? When you consider the hundreds, no thousands, no millions of games played every year, just think what an impact this would have. I know, I know if this were law all the vendors would complain about the higher cost of the biodegradable disposable packaging. And all those paying for the cleanup services would complain about the higher cost of transporting the waste to the compost facilities. The reality of it is that they will just raise the ticket and concession prices to cover these thereby passing the cost on to us, the fans.
So be it. This planet is too wonderful for us all not to make an effort. So here’s the challenge to all the politicians out there to do the right thing and make this law. Call your congressman today!
With the ongoing concern about plastic waste accumulating in municipal landfills and reliance on imported oil to make these plastics, scientists from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, have developed a new biodegradable foam material that has the potential to replace a number of commonly-used plastic foams made from petroleum. The new material is made from two unlikely resources: cow milk and simply clay.
80 percent of the protein in cow milk is a substance called casein, which already finds uses in making adhesives and paper coatings. But casein is not very strong and water can wash it away. To strengthen the casein and increase its resistance to water, the scientists blended in a small amount of clay and a reactive molecule called glyceraldehyde, which links casein's protein molecules together. By mixing these materials researchers were able to create the new "aerogel" material (spongy biodegradable foam) that is extremely light and airy. In fact its developers actually refer to it as "solid smoke”. To increase the strength of the new foam they cured it in an oven. They have concluded that it is strong enough for commercial uses and biodegradable, with almost a third of the material breaking down within 30 days after being disposed.
We don't ever want to stop looking for alternatives to petroleum-based products. Biodegradable products made from cow milk is just another example of how we can reduce our dependence on foreign oil and reduce waste at the same time.
Attention Restaurant Owners - Pandas Don't Like Biodegradable Dishware
Posted On 2011-02-01 , 10:39 AM
A panda walks into a restaurant, sits down and orders a sandwich. He eats the sandwich, pulls out a gun and shoots the waiter dead. As the panda stands up to go, the manager shouts, “Hey! Where are you going? You just shot my waiter and you didn’t pay for your sandwich!” The panda yells back at the manager, “Hey man, I m a PANDA! Look it up!” The manager opens his dictionary and sees the following definition for panda: “A tree dwelling marsupial of Asian origin, characterized by distinct black and white coloring. Eats shoots and leaves.”
O.K. restaurant owners of the world. It's time to Panda-proof your establishment - start using biodegradable dishware for all your disposable dishware needs.
Just heard that Frito-Lay is doing away with most of its biodegradable chips bags because, are you ready for this, they are too noisy! That’s right, too noisy. Apparently customers (like the chip-headed guy above) have complained about the noise created by the “green” bags. And not just to Frito-Lay. They have complained on Facebook, YouTube and other social media as well. What next? Protests? Riots? Of all the lame brain excuses for not going green, this tops them all. I can only guess that the rustling of the bags drowns out the crunching of the chips to a point that it ruins the sanctimony of the chip eating experience.
At least level heads have prevailed at Stonyfield Farm Inc. Last week, responding to concerns about possible carcinogens in their former polystyrene containers, it announced that it has switched to a plastic made from corn – one of the first plant-based containers for the dairy industry and believed to be the first for yogurt. The containers are made from polylactic acid, or PLA. Let’s all pray that the yogurt eaters of the world are less sensitized than their no-green, chip-headed brothers.
Nowadays it seems everyone is “going green”. At least that’s what they would have you believe. But how many truly are? Who out there is really devoted? The ones that are are pretty adamant about sticking to this philosophy in all aspects of their lives. This includes purchasing only eco-friendly, sustainable products and avoiding those that aren’t. In fact, those that truly embrace the Green Movement will avoid eating at restaurants or delis that don’t use environmentally friendly products.
So, how does the savvy boutique deli owner or cutting edge café entrepreneur take advantage of this hidden gold mine? By using biodegradable disposable dishware and, just as important, letting everybody know about it. Market yourself as the eco-friendly restaurant owner that’s doing his or her part to protect the planet. You might be surprised at the bump in business this might generate.
Do your part for the planet AND your pocketbook. Go Green and get more Green$$$.
With the ongoing concern about plastic waste accumulating in municipal landfills and reliance on imported oil to make these plastics, scientists from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, have developed a new biodegradable foam material that has the potential to replace a number of commonly-used plastic foams made from petroleum. The new material is made from two unlikely resources: cow milk and simply clay.
A panda walks into a restaurant, sits down and orders a sandwich. He eats the sandwich, pulls out a gun and shoots the waiter dead. As the panda stands up to go, the manager shouts, “Hey! Where are you going? You just shot my waiter and you didn’t pay for your sandwich!” The panda yells back at the manager, “Hey man, I m a PANDA! Look it up!” The manager opens his dictionary and sees the following definition for panda: “A tree dwelling marsupial of Asian origin, characterized by distinct black and white coloring. Eats shoots and leaves.”
Nowadays it seems everyone is
